Crisis In A Can
by samus18
Summary: Johnny Worthington is bothered by the revolution taking place at Monsters Inc. and finds a way to deal with it. Meanwhile, he remains suspicious of an older-than-average child who he finds out has been screaming on purpose to get him to keep coming back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: First off, I just wanna say - Johnny Worthington is my absolute favorite character. :) We need more stories of him on that don't involve slash. I know I have another Monsters story in progress, but this idea popped up in my head and I'm seeing where I can head with it. If you don't like it, then just do what I do when I come across a fanfic I don't like: ignore it and go away, lol. To everyone else: hope you like it :D

Crisis In A Can

"The child's getting older," said a much-older monster with tentacles and dour expression sitting in a secluded (yet lofty) office.

"Great screamer, though," Worthington confessed, leaning against the doorframe of his boss's office. "She's been my best customer for years. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was doing it intentionally."

The older monster sat hunched at his desk and grunted, shaking his head. "It's too risky. Something doesn't smell right about it." He gazed at the picture of the now-ten-year-old girl - said "best customer" of Johnny Worthington. "Ten years old?" he murmured doubtfully. "We usually shred a child's door by seven years of age, at the latest."

Johnny shrugged a shoulder. "Key word being 'usually.' Some kids are easier to scare than others, even well into their years."

"Perhaps…" he mumbled, and shuffled the child's file back in its proper place. "We'll need to keep an eye on this one. If she catches on that our world lies on the other side of her door…"

"I don't think there's anything to fear, sir," Johnny said cooly. "She can open that door as many times as she wants, but unless its hooked up, she won't find a thing."

The CEO nodded assent, seemingly content with the matter, for the moment. "Very well. Lets milk this thing for as long as we can. If what you say is true and she is indeed your 'best customer'...I suppose it would be a shame to lose all of that energy…"

Johnny donned his trademark grin. "Don't forget that a human's voice emits more power with age." He eased himself from the doorframe and stood behind the desk. "I remember when I first started scaring this one. I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw me," he chuckled. "Oh she was terrified, but I recall having trouble filling the canister." His expression darkened, as if it was something he preferred not to remember. "I thought she'd be a dead door in no time. Turns out I was wrong."

The older monster heaved himself out of the chair and faced his top scarer. "Son, I want you to do me - and the company - a favor. From now on when you go to visit this child, keep a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Mark her facial expression and body language when she screams. Be observant. If even one thing seems off, I want to know about it."

Johnny nodded. "Consider it done, Mr. Cobswell."

Cobswell slapped him approvingly on the back. "Shall we commence?"

X

It had been a rough day at work, and Johnny was ready to call it a day by the time he punched out. He was the last one on the floor that day. Everyone else was headed for home, and the lights began to shut off on the scare floor. A room that had previously been filled with so much light and sound was now as silent as the grave as if it, too, were ready for a good night's rest.

Fear Co.'s top scarer dragged his feet as he exited the building and made for the parking lot. Tossing his duffel bag into the back seat, he slumped over the steering wheel and started the car. The streets were emptier that night than usual. There were a lot of monsters who were nocturnal, and thus their primary hours of operation were during the wee hours of the night - but as it was Monday night, even the nightcrawlers retired earlier than usual (more jobs in Monstropolis required diurnal workers.)

When Johnny arrived home, he tossed his bag aside and threw off his jacket, and immediately headed to bed. He usually had a snack the moment he got home from work, but he had remained at the company longer than expected that night, so food wasn't on his mind. Tired as he was, his mind hopped from one thing to the next as he tried to relax enough to fall to sleep. He thought of all the scaring he had accomplished during the day. His mind flitted over some of the faces of the kids he had encountered (he hadn't visited the ten-year-old), thought of all the things he had to get done on his next day off, mulled over Mr. Cobswell's instructions, reminded himself to return his mother's phone call, find time to take his car into the shop...water the weeds...

He woke up to the alarm clock ringing in his ear. He impatiently shut if off and made to get ready for work. He expected Mr. Cobswell to debrief him on their "problem child" (as the boss was now referring to her), because Johnny was expecting to pay the kid a visit today. He only visited that particular girl about once a month, if that. It wasn't standard procedure to visit any single child too often, for fear of them being desensitized to the monster who visited them, regardless of how fearsome that monster was. Some human children recovered from their fears remarkably fast, and others - even more interestingly - tended to show no sign of fear at all. It was one of the many challenges of being a Scarer; you could be the scariest monster in the world, but if the kid didn't cooperate...well, it resulted in their door being sent to the shredder.

Johnny greeted the usual gaggle of acquaintances he was on friendly terms with. He was, needless to say, one of the more popular figures at the factory - not least of all among the female employees at the company - though, not exactly for his disarming persona.

"Worthington," a deep voice called behind him.

"Mr. Cobswell," he greeted.

"Today's the day. I have a checklist I want you to look over concerning your 'pride and joy.'" He meant the 10-year-old girl.

He chuckled. He seriously didn't believe that the girl would end up being any trouble in the long run - but whatever his boss wanted, he'd get it done pronto. "Leave it to me, boss," he said, as he followed his superior toward his office.

When they got there, Mr. Cobswell pulled out a laminated sheet of paper from a filing cabinet and handed it to Johnny. "We haven't had to use one of these in a long time," he said, as Johnny skimmed the paper. "But, times are changing, which means children are changing, too. They're getting harder to scare."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "All evidence to the contrary." He tucked the paper under his arm and they left the office.

His boss allowed a small grin. "You never seem lacking in this area of expertise, Worthington. I don't recall the last time you ever had an off day here at the factory."

"That's because I've never had one." He smirked. "It can't all be the kids, you know. Maybe some of the employees are losing their touch."

He nodded, contemplating the possibility. "Perhaps it's also a matter of finding out what scares each individual child. Although our department has always been very thorough about that."

"All the more reason to hang onto the runt I'm dealing with. She's about the longest we've ever had any child."

"Yes, well…" he straightened. "We'll keep things the way they are - for now. But we'll put her on the yellow list in case of any 'funny business.' Human children can be crafty."

"I know what you mean," he said, remembering a particular experience he had with a child's 'cleverness.' It was a small boy who he used to scare now and then, and during one shift, he had opened the door portal to his room - only to meet with a stack of books landing hard on his head. Evidently, the boy had anticipated his arrival and had tried to set a "trap" for him. Granted, it was no genius plan, but he was surprised at the kid's initiative. Most children - in anticipation of a monster coming out of their closet - just sat in bed nervously peering around the room, or huddled under the covers. Johnny had never admitted it to anyone, but he was sorry the kid's door had to be shredded. He would have been a fun subject to work with, maybe even would have provided him with a challenge.

If Johnny had any secret regrets, it was that standard protocol called for a child's door to be destroyed the instant the child could no longer provide them with scream energy, for whatever reason. In some rare cases, they have been known to destroy the doors of children who insisted that one of their parents stay in the room with them all night, but only if they repeated it over and over. But again, it was a rare case when that happened, as most parents found other ways to deal with their child's fear other than stay in their room all night waiting for something to come out of the closet that they knew wasn't there.

He still regretted it, though. He thought it might be fun to meet a kid who actually posed a challenge for him.

X

Johnny's partner, Charlie, stood by the first door, waiting for his co-worker to arrive. Charlie was a lot shorter than Johnny. He was a robust yellow monster with four limbs, two eyes, and sharp teeth. But he was a friendly guy, and Johnny didn't mind working with him.

Contrariwise, Charlie was always enthusiastic about working with Fear Co.'s top scarer.

"Good morning, Mr. Worthington!" he chimed. "I've got your first door all ready - a little boy from Colorado!" Charlie was still fairly new at the job and hadn't yet familiarized himself with the kids that Johnny had frequented more often. The kid from Colorado was Johnny's second most visited.

"Gregory first, huh?" Johnny said with a grin. "Bring it on, this kid's terrified of me." He flexed his muscles and crouched to the floor in ready position.

When the light went on, he raced into the kids room, whereupon Charlie heard an ear-shattering scream, and the yellow canister filled to the top within a second.

"Nicely done, sir!" Charlie beamed when the large purple monster exited the bedroom. Several more hours of this sort of thing, and Johnny was ready to take a ten. He and Charlie made their way to the break room.

"You know, sir," Charlie said after grabbing a donut, "even with Monsters Inc. restoring to different methods nowadays, we're still not that far behind them - I mean when it comes to producing energy."

Johnny sighed while pouring himself a cup of coffee. The revolutionized technique for obtaining energy that Monsters Inc. was now using was something Johnny didn't like to think about, for a lot of reasons. The company had shocked all of Monstropolis - indeed, pretty much the whole monster world - when it became known that the Scarers there had turned into...well, Laughers. Or those that made children laugh. Sure, they were doing it for the good of the company and for monsters everywhere, as apparently laugh energy was discovered to be much more powerful than scream energy. Still…

"Yeah, well, maybe we'll actually get ahead of them someday," Johnny mumbled, taking a seat opposite Charlie. He was never quite sure what to say when it came to Monsters Inc. anymore. He knew that he would never be a monster that made children laugh, and neither did he want to. He was born and bred to scare, not _entertain_. His whole family history revolved around scaring; it was what he went to school and worked so hard for. Besides that, he was a fearsome-looking monster, not a comedic one. He refused to give up a lifetime of work and study, regardless of how efficient laugh-energy was.

Charlie had become a little more used to Johnny's moods, and was able to tell when his co-worker was in an agreeable one or not. He ventured carefully, "Well, our ways might be old-school by now, but as long as we keep trying our hardest…" He let the rest speak for itself.

It was another thing that irked Mr. Worthington. In the back of his mind, he feared that his company might one day resort to copying Monsters Inc. If that day ever came, he didn't know what he would do. He had heard rumors that even Scream Industries was making steps toward revolutionizing their technique as well.

He shoved his chair back and stood up; he didn't want to think about this right now. "Come on," he said, feeling inspired. "Let's try to break the record today."

Johnny, of course, held several records at Fear Co., but he was always aspiring to beat it. He hadn't broken any records yet with Charlie as his partner, but he was willing to let Charlie get his "scare floor legs" before he tried pushing him hard (_too_ hard, anyway.)

It was toward the end of the day when a familiar door lowered itself onto the platform. It was the plainest-looking door, white with a brass knob, but Johnny Worthington would have recognized it anywhere. 'We meet again, runt,' he thought, as Charlie prepared the canister.

"Here goes, Mr. Worthington." He gave the thumbs up sign, and Johnny swept into the bedroom.

Unfortunately for him, a very unexpected thing happened. Before he even had a chance to ready himself for a scare method, something wound itself around his legs.

"_Hey_, what the -!" The something tripped him up and sent him crashing to the floor. The sound of a tiny motor could be heard in the background, even with the tremendous thud of his large form onto the ground.

"Caught him! I _caught_ him!" piped a young voice.

"Shhh! You're gonna wake up your parents!" said another.

Johnny was dazed, but only slightly. Almost as fast as it had happened, he tugged the string off his legs and stood up, hands on his hips, glaring at not one, but _two_ young girls sitting on the bed in the room.

Angry and surprised, Johnny fixed the girls with a scowl. "What do you think you're doing, you little runt?" It was the first time he had ever spoken to her.

The girl - the 10-year-old he had been scaring for years, now - stared wide-eyed at him. "You talk?"

"Of course I talk," he barked. Then, as if suddenly becoming aware of the situation, he moved a hand to cover his eyes. "This is no good," he said, and backed off into the door.

"Wait!" the girl called. She hopped off the bed, leaving her excited friend behind, and approached him.

Even though it was now known to all monsters that human children did not pose a danger, he still inwardly recoiled as she walked up to him. Old habits died hard, after all. "What are you?" she asked him.

"A monster," he said, "now get back to bed and don't tell anyone about this." He seemed frustrated.

"But wait!" she said again, and this time he fought with impatience. "Who are you? Why do you come into my room to scare me?"

"Long story, kid. Let's just say it's my job." Without waiting for her to say "wait!" again, he disappeared behind the door and slammed it shut.

The girl and her friend, of course, rushed over and opened it, but the only thing they found was the inside of her closet.

X

Johnny had left work angry that evening. He didn't even say bye to Charlie. When he got home, he flopped on his couch and turned on the television, hoping to find something that would distract him from the days' disturbing events. He flipped through ten channels before giving up and shutting the box off. He rubbed his temples and remained on the couch for a few minutes, allowing himself to brood, before getting up and heading to the kitchen for something to drink.

'Looks like this is it...Cobswell was right after all.'

He spent the rest of the evening trying not to worry too much about what had happened, and decided to share it with Charlie the next day.

X

"Say _what_? But, Mr. Worthington, if she's not afraid of you, we _have_ to shred her door!"

"Will you _can_ it?" he hissed, and Charlie put his upper hands to his mouth. "I know what this means, and it's a lot more than having the kids' door demolished! Don't you get it? She's the one who gives me the most scream energy."

"But Mr. Worthington," he said again, "it's standard procedure! Besides, she's not going to scream anymore if she isn't afraid of you."

Johnny was silent for a time, deep in thought. They were in the locker room, and no one else was around. Johnny stuffed a sweatshirt into his locker, and then it hit him. "Mr. Cobswell was right," he said, as if a lightbulb had just gone off in his head.

Charlie didn't catch on. "Of course he was right, you said so yourself."

"No," he said, waving an irritated hand. "I mean he was right about the kid - she was screaming as loud as she could, but _intentionally_. She was doing it on purpose."

Charlie was confused. "But, why would any kid do that?"

"What's what I _don't_ know." He frowned. "But, I'm gonna find out."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Do you think that's safe? Wouldn't it be better if we just got rid of her door."

Johnny stiffened, and faced his co-worker. "You don't get it, do you? If I lose that kid, I lose a huge portion of what makes my job successful. She's the oldest kid I scare, and her screams are a lot more powerful than the younger ones."

"Does it really make that much difference if you only lose one kid?"

"It does to _me_. Besides," he turned away, "we've got to do everything we can for this company, what with Monsters Inc. in the lead with their laughing techniques and all. That means doing _everything_. Every scream we get is crucial, if we want to keep things the way they've been going on for time on end."

Charlie nodded, beginning to understand why he was making such a fuss over one kid. "Alright, as long as you know what you're doing."

Johnny tried not to roll his eyes. "The boss told me to keep an eye on the kid, and that's exactly what I'm gonna be doing."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Here's the second chapter. I owe a lot of thanks to fellow FanFiction writer, O'Growlahan, who is, as he puts it, collaborating with me on the story, and thus the ideas in it belong rightfully both to him and me. :)

-

Chapter 2

-

The sun shone bright over Fear Co's insignia, casting long shadows over the courtyard. Monsters filed in and out of the building, some of them heading in to work, others (non-Scarers) heading for home after pulling an all-nighter.

Johnny entered the building early that morning, and tired as he was, at least it meant that he could go home earlier as well. He preferred night shifts, personally, but he had to admit that early morning shifts had their advantages. He greeted everyone half-heartedly, vowing not to initiate conversation until he had at least one cup of coffee. He never really had trouble getting up in the morning, but perhaps long years of working non-stop at the company were beginning to take a small toll.

After he allowed himself a couple minutes to get in the groove, he decided he would approach his boss about what happened yesterday. He didn't intend to tell him all of the truth, however, as doing so would probably cause him to panic and resort to having the child's door shredded. Johnny didn't want to risk that possibility just yet, so he had another story made up.

"Good morning Mr. Cobswell," he approached the CEO as soon as he was open for conversation, having just ended one with a fellow Scarer.

"Good morning, Worthington. How are you feeling today?"

"Never better," he straightened his posture to ward off any misgivings about his state. "Listen, sir - I had an encounter with the girl yesterday."

He raised his eyebrow. "The one?"

"Yes, that one. I, uh...scared her pretty good, but I noticed something a little off…" He had his boss's full attention now; there was no turning back. 'Here goes,' he thought, and said aloud, "In the past when I used to scare her, she'd always dive under the blanket. This time she didn't."

Just as Johnny had thought, Mr. Cobswell appeared very perturbed by the news. "I see…" He frowned.

Feeling a bit perturbed himself (for a different reason), Johnny put his gear in reverse. "I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about, sir. I don't expect her to hide under the quilt every single time I come to scare her. I remember one night when she ran out of her room."

But Mr. Cobswell would not be dissuaded. "I don't like this news, it seems as thought she is overcoming her fear, however slightly." He paused. "Even so, we must stick to the rules, which state that a child's door must not be sent to the shredder unless there is a legitimate reason for doing so."

Johnny let loose a barely-audible sigh of relief. "Right, sir."

"As such, just keep up the good work. I trust you, Worthington."

Johnny felt a pang of guilt upon hearing those words, but he thanked his boss and left for the locker room. He began to wonder what he was getting himself into, when Peter approached him from the other side of the locker wall. He was a large, frightening monster who usually worked on the same scare floor as Johnny, and the two considered each other friendly acquaintances. He was thick-set and covered in turquoise scales. His tail was short and stubby, but his most remarkable feature were his glow-in-the-dark eyes, which did wonders in frightening children at night.

"Morning, Worthington!" he greeted, flinging a towel over his shoulder.

"Morning, Peter." Johnny said, staring at his fellow Scarer. "What's with the towel? It's only 8:00 AM."

"I've been practicing. Gotta keep in top shape if I'm gonna avoid human objects, right?"

"Peter," Johnny deadpanned, "human kids aren't toxic, remember?"

"Oh...right," he said, looking as if he were disappointed by this fact. "But all the same, I don't want to get out of shape."

"You working on Floor A today?"

"Nah, my schedule says C. Gonna be paying a visit to Johanna today."

Johnny raised an amused eyebrow and stuffed a few things into his locker. "The kid that throws things?"

"That's the one!" he nodded enthusiastically, as if it pleased him.

Johnny shook his head. "Can't see why they haven't sent that brat's door to the shredder."

Peter shrugged. "She's still technically afraid of monsters."

He sighed. He didn't want to think about door shredders at the moment. "Well, I'm off. See you around break."

The morning shift turned out more interesting than Johnny had anticipated. Charlie made sure that the 10-year-old's door came up as soon as possible.

Johnny looked surprised when it lowered onto the platform. "Her again?" he said. "I thought we weren't due back to the Pacific coast for another few weeks or so."

Charlie shrugged. "You must have missed the announcement - the Pacific coast is getting a little overtime due to our great success yesterday."

He shook his head. "It's still odd. I don't recall the company ever agreeing to that before." He readied himself to enter the child's room. Charlie gulped nervously as he set everything in motion, then gave Johnny the go-ahead.

This time Johnny didn't burst into the girl's room ready to scare. He approached cautiously for fear of being entangled in another one of the girl's "traps" - and found that the girl was indeed there (alone this time), lying on her bed with a book. As was the habit of any skilled monster, he briefly glanced over the floor for any human objects - but, being that this child was ten years of age, her floor was a bit tidier.

The girl looked up from her book, and sat up quickly. "You again!" she exclaimed.

"Quiet, keep it down!" he hissed.

Amazingly, the girl complied, and continued to stare at him. "Who are you?" she asked.

'Again with the questions,' Johnny thought, and took a step closer. He shut the door behind him, trusting that Charlie would stay hard on his task. "Johnny Worthington the third," he answered, knowing it would mean nothing to the human kid.

"Johnny?" she repeated, bemused. Then said, "My name is Marley."

He said nothing, but put his hands on his hips and studied her for the first time. She seemed to be of average height and weight for a 10-year-old human girl. She had dirty-blond hair and blue-grey eyes. She wore a long lime-green shirt and patterned leggings, and had something of an unkempt look to her.

He glanced behind him slightly to make sure the door was still shut; he didn't want anyone listening in on this conversation. "Listen kid, I know all about your scream scheme." He paused, as if waiting for some explanation from her. He had an odd, distinct sensation, being that this was the first human he had ever had a real conversation with.

She seemed unperturbed by the accusation, and said, "I almost caught you, too, but you had to go and ruin it."

Ignoring this statement, he continued, "How long have you been screaming on purpose?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, I guess a while."

"How long?" he pushed.

She screwed up her mouth and looked at the ceiling. "Maybe...three years?"

He sighed and once again covered his eyes with his hand. He then looked at the kid's door. Every second brought greater tension for the monster, as any minute the kid's parents could come in to check on her (the kid did have her light on, which didn't help matters much, as lights seemed to draw attention from parents more often than not.)

Deciding to shove pride away for a moment, he asked her, "Think you can keep it up?"

"Keep what up?"

"The screaming."

She slid off her bed, and Johnny visibly tensed.

"Why do you want us kids to scream so much, anyway?"

"Kid, like I said, it's a long story, and I don't have time to explain any of it." He glanced behind him for the umpteenth time. "Just tell me, would you be willing to keep screaming as loud as you can every time I come here?"

Her eyes lit up. "As loud as I can?"

"Right."

"Yeah, I can do that!"

"Alright then," he stepped back a few paces and placed his hand on the doorknob. "Until next time, kid."

"Hey, wait, what about - !" But Johnny had closed the door.

Marley didn't even bother opening it this time. She went back to bed, frustrated. That Johnny monster sure didn't like lingering, and he always refused to answer her questions. She lay in bed for a long time thinking about it. She knew her parents would never believe her if she told them that a monster came and talked to her. For Pete's sake, they didn't believe her years ago when she said a monster kept coming out of her closet to scare her, so they certainly wouldn't believe this.

The only person who knew about Johnny was her friend, Geraldine, who saw him, too. 'This is so crazy!' she thought to herself as she grabbed her favorite stuffed animal and hugged it close. 'There's actually a monster in my closet...'

Sometimes, when she woke up in the morning, she had to convince herself that the encounters really did happen, and that she hadn't dreamed them. By the end of the day, that belief was always put to the test, and she was constantly tempted to think that none of it was real. But there always came a night when she was proven wrong.

A sudden idea came to mind, and she smiled under the covers. If that Johnny monster didn't answer her questions next time, then she wouldn't scream for him. That will make him answer any question she asked him.

Satisfied, and anxious now for his next visit - whenever that would be (his visits were vastly unpredictable) - she drifted off to sleep.

X

"Everything ok, sir?" Charlie asked cautiously as Johnny stepped out of the room. "You were in there for...uh...a while."

"Fine," he said curtly. "Everything worked out fine."

"Uh, sir?" he pointed to the canister. It was empty. He had forgotten to ask her to scream.

He mentally swore and swiped his fist through the air. 'How could I have been so stupid?' He looked around to see if anyone had noticed; it was the first time he ever left a room with an empty can. "Get me another door, and quick!" he said. Charlie hurried to obey.

"Listen," he said in an almost-whisper when Charlie had returned. "This never happened, understand? You don't mention that can foul-up to anyone!"

"Of course not, sir." Charlie had to keep from trembling. "But, sir, what about the girl? Aren't you going to report her door?"

"Quiet!" he hissed, glancing around the scare floor. "We're not gonna mention this here, got it?"

Charlie nodded, wide-eyed, and proceeded to focus on his task.

Later that day during lunch break, Johnny met up with Charlie in the break room. "Listen, rookie," he said, "if you wanna know what this is all about, we'd better step outside."

Charlie wasn't Johnny's first choice of people to confide in. He'd much rather have communicated with Chet - his college fraternity brother - who often worked on a different scare floor. He had known Chet for years, and although the crab-like monster was flighty, Johnny trusted him.

But seeing as how Charlie was his door assitant and bound to find out what was going on anyway, he grudgingly accepted the logical (and unavoidable) choice. He wasn't exactly close friends with Charlie, but Johnny felt him to be a good guy. They stepped outside and took a seat on one of the benches in front of the fountain.

Charlie set to work on his lunch. Johnny decided to come right out with it. "I talked to the kid."

Charlie nearly choked on his lunch. "You _WHAT_?!" There was no need to say who "the kid" was.

"Hey!" Johnny angrily clasped a hand over the excitable monster's mouth. "Do you mind keeping it down? I don't need this kinda stuff broadcasted!"

Charlie nodded, but his expression remained incredulous. "Mr. Worthington, how could you - !"

"Hold it, let me explain," he cut him off, holding his hands up. "Yesterday, I told you that the boss was right about that little imp, so I decided to ask the girl, just to make sure. She confirmed my worst...uh, fears. The runt's not scared of me anymore, but -" he held up a finger as Charlie opened his mouth, "we've come to an agreement."

Charlie looked twice as stunned as he was already, if that were possible. "A...an agreement?"

"Right." Now Johnny leaned in so as to make sure no one heard. He said in low tones, "The kid's agreed to keep providing us with scream energy."

Charlie put his hands to his ears and shook his head back and forth. "Oh no no no no no...this is _not_ good, this _can't_ be good…" He continued to shake his head.

"Hey," Johnny said again, in a stern voice. He lightly slapped Charlie upside the head, forcing the yellow monster to snap out of it. "Relax, small fry. We're in control on this side of the door. If a single thing goes wrong, the worst that could happen is having her door demolished."

"But _Johnny_ -" he caught himself, started, and said, "Mr. Worthington...I mean...communicating with humans is strictly against the law, no matter what the situation!"

"Listen, rookie," his voice took on a more dangerous tone, "everything I've worked for my entire life could be at stake, and if this company doesn't start making its quotas, we're _done_. Get the message? If I can get this kid to howl like a banshee on a whim, then it's one less thing I have to worry about."

Charlie sighed and stared at the ground, downcast. "Whatever you say, sir." He stared at his sandwich, not really hungry anymore. "But I don't like it one bit."

X

Marley sat in her room on Saturday morning, surrounded by sheets of paper and colored pencils. She finished her cartoon marathon and had now secluded herself to her room. Her mother had offered to invite Geraldine over to play, but Marley said she didn't feel like playing with anyone right now. She hadn't been wanting to be around anyone since that Johnny monster came into her room the last time.

She felt strange, and though she was only ten years old, she knew that she was carrying a very big secret inside of her. As such, it made her feel a bit isolated from people around her. She wanted so much to tell someone about the monster.

She sat at the small desk in her room and finished the picture she had been working on. It was of Johnny. Marley had always been a good artist, and her rendition of the large purple monster was a remarkable likeness. She looked at it for a minute, then - having a sudden change of heart - decided that she would invite Geraldine over. Her friend was, after all, the only other human who had seen the purple monster. Talking about the exciting discovery would help alleviate her anxiety until the monster returned again.

A while later found the two girls sitting in Marley's room. Geraldine was playing a video game, and Marley was working on another picture of the purple monster.

"Darn it, I keep dying," Geraldine moaned and leaned back against her friend's bed.

"Do you think we really saw this thing?" Marley asked, studying her picture-in-progress.

"I don't know," her friend answered, still gazing defeatedly at the screen. "I thought we dreamed it."

"I don't think so…" She chewed the end of her pencil and held up the paper. "Did he look like this?"

Her friend gazed at the drawing. "Yeah, that's a pretty good picture of him. I guess we did see him."

"Aren't you excited, though?"

"About what? I don't want him coming back here, whatever he is."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "He's scary, and besides, do you think my parents would ever believe me if I told them a monster was coming out of my friend's closet? I used to say stuff like that when I was five."

Marley sighed and tossed her pencil onto the desk. Chatting about this with her friend wasn't turning out like she had hoped. It made it harder for her to believe that what she had seen wasn't a dream.

"Do you wanna stay over at my house tonight? My parents are gonna order a pizza."

"I think I'll stay here, I don't wanna miss anything if that monster comes back."

Geraldine looked at her. "Oh, you're crazy! You're really just gonna sit here and wait for him?"

They bickered lightly back and forth, until Geraldine's parents came over to pick her up. Marley waved goodbye, and then immediately headed back up to her room, closing the door. She flopped down on her bed, absently reaching for her stuffed bear. Her mind was awhirl as she stared up at the ceiling, pulling at bits of fluff on her stuffed animal.

She felt a surge of anger and hurt from her friend's words. 'I'm _not_ crazy,'

X

A few weeks passed by rather uneventfully before Johnny approached his boss concerning the matter with "Problem Child."

"How have things been coming along, Worthington?"

"Smooth enough." He rubbed the back of his head. "Problem Kid still screams when I enter the room, so it's safe to say she's as timid as ever. Haven't lost my touch."

"Good, good. No other unusual signs, then?"

"Not really, sir."

He set his coffee mug down. "Alright. Just you stay on top of it, and I'll try not to worry."

Johnny was growing uncomfortable with the lies. He decided he would come clean and tell his boss the truth about the girl - but not yet. He needed to wait until the time was right - conversing with your scare object was not something a monster did idly, and so the topic would have to be breached very carefully. If coming into physical contact with a human child was the number one avoidance, then speaking to the child was a close second.

Scarers are strongly encouraged not to speak to the children they frightened, for fear that any evidence of the monster world would leak out into the human world - however unlikely the case might be. Human children had active imaginations, of course, and parents understood this quite well - but it was a chance best not taken.

Charlie was ready and waiting at the station as Johnny arrived on the scene. "Morning, sir! How do you feel this morning?"

He glared at the smaller yellow monster as if to say "what do you think?" but he forced a civilized response. "Fine, Charlie. Who's it gonna be today?"

"We're on a new kid today - a four-year-old boy from Alaska."

"Good; I always like a new customer." He grinned and, as per usual, flexed his muscles.

The door light buzzed on, and he swooped in, shutting the door behind him. The small boy was wide awake and sitting up in bed, staring out the window - but when the large, fearsome, purple monster came from out of his closet, he let out a bona fide scream that would have pleased any Scarer.

Unfortunately for Johnny, the sound of footsteps were heard almost immediately outside the kid's door. A light appeared beneath it, along with a muffled voice calling, "Danny?"

The grin disappeared from Johnny's face, and he hurried back into the closet. He was greeted with an immediate "Well done, sir!" from Charlie as he unloaded the canister from the door. His enthusiasm fell short as he noticed the (_very slightly_) frazzled look on his co-worker's face. "Uh, sir?"

"The kid's parents showed up right after he screamed." He put his hands on his hips and stared at the now-lifeless door with a frown. "Looks like another kid we're gonna have to keep an eye on."

"Aw, gee," Charlie shook his head. "Strange that the kid's parents were so quick to show up, huh?"

"Right. Now you see why we're under pressure here, bub."

"I sure hope we can keep our numbers up. If our problems keep escalating…"

"We'll keep the numbers up," Johnny growled with the utmost confidence in his voice. "And we'll do it by doing our job. So get me another door, we've stood here long enough."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What's the time, Charlie?"

"Precisely 7:02 PM, sir."

Johnny had been going through the motions very smoothly that day, but he was anxious to get off work. Ever since he had decided to collaborate with the 10-year-old - that is, _Marley_ - he vowed to do a little extra research on human beings, if only to lessen the chance that he would be taken by surprise by anything. Knowledge about human beings was slim in the monster world; few monsters ever went beyond scream energy when it came to learning about the creatures they depended on for power. Still, he planned on checking out the local library after work. He got off at 8:00 PM, which gave him plenty of time afterwards to rest and carry out the research.

When the end of the shift came, Johnny said a quick goodbye to his co-workers and headed for the library. It was lucky that his shift ended at 8:00, and not later. He rarely ever went to the library and wasn't sure what time it closed, but being that this 'project' might take more than a little time to complete, he'd rather have the extra time than not.

The Monstropolis library was enormous. It had to be, because it was the only one in the city (minus the smaller library at the senior center.) As with every other building in Monstropolis, it was decorated fearsomely, adorned with spikes, frightening statues, and austere design.

Johnny parked his car and headed up the stone steps to the entrance. It was winter, and the days grew darker much earlier - as such, he had the pleasure of seeing the library illuminated by the large garden lights hidden among the bushes. Library or not, it was an inspiring sight to behold.

'Maybe I ought to come here more often,' he thought, half jokingly.

The interior of the library was well-lit and expansive. There weren't many monsters there this time of night. The librarian - a skinny, many-tentacled lady with curly gray hair and red lips - looked up as Johnny approached the desk.

"Why, if it isn't Fear Co.'s top scarer," she said in a spindly voice. One of her tentacles reached to adjust her spectacles.

Johnny smirked. "In the flesh. Listen, I'm looking for something important -"

"Well you've come to the right place, young man," she interrupted, easing herself out of her chair and making her way over to one of the computers. "The Monstropolis library covers everything from the fear-monger fruit-fly to the Juggling Giants of Howling Hollow -"

"Actually," he cut in, "I need some information on humans."

"Ahh," she murmured and set to typing on the keyboard. In less than three seconds, she pulled the results up. "Yes, yes, we have many, many books on the properties of scream energy, the strength of a child's scream, different screams for different ages -"

"What about, anything on human behavior?"

She paused and regarded him with surprise. "Books, on human _behavior_? Well, I never...I don't believe anyone has asked for such a thing before...however…" She turned back to the screen, and - reluctantly, it seemed - conducted a search. Again, it didn't take long for her to find. "Mm, yes, you're in luck Mr. Worthington. It would seem we have one book in the whole library on human behavior."

"Great. Direct me to it."

"Fifth floor, aisle 6, section D, you can't miss it."

"You're a gem," he muttered, and went to go search for the book.

He had a difficult time of it, as the book was actually hidden behind the row it was supposed to be in. He frowned in curiosity as he studied the book, with its dusty cover, thick spine, and odd cover page - a painting of what appeared to be a human with his hands on his face, making a rather despairing expression.

He raised an eyebrow, but tucked book under his arm. He checked it out at the front desk and headed home. His mission, so far, was successful; he hadn't expected it to be that easy to find even one book on human behavior.

When he got home, he set the book on a table and headed to the fridge for a snack. By then it was around 8:45 PM. He wasn't tired, and it was a Friday night, so he phoned Chet and Chip to see if they were interested in a trip to the bowling lanes. He also got a hold of Reggie (even though he knew Reg wasn't a big fan of bowling.) He didn't bother calling Javier because he knew he was working late that night. So at least four of the previous members of ROR gathered for a Friday night game.

It was packed, it being a Friday night and all, but the disco lights were flashing everywhere and music blared through the loudspeakers, which made for an exciting evening.

Long into the game, Chip began to have the upper hand, with Johnny as a close second.

"How's work been going, Johnny?" Chip asked during an intermission.

"Things are getting better," he said, then told his frat brothers about the situation between him and Marley.

Ordinarily, Johnny would not have volunteered such delicate information, but these were his friends, his former ROR members. If he couldn't tell them, who could he confide in?

Needless to say, they were all rather shocked at the news. Even Chet hadn't known about it, and he usually clung to Johnny like a barnacle.

"But Johnny, talking to a _human kid_?" he spluttered.

"I know times are hard, but do you really need to take drastic measures?" Chip asked.

Johnny was not phased. "Trust me guys, I know what I'm doing. The kid agreed to help me, so if nothing goes wrong, it won't make any difference whether she's screaming because she's afraid or because we've struck a deal. In fact, it might even be better."

The others were silent. They didn't like arguing with their former frat president, and besides, maybe he had a point; maybe there really was nothing to be nervous about. As drastic as his plan seemed, they still trusted his judgement.

They played the rest of their games (with Chip as the final winner) and parted ways for the night.

Johnny got home late, and because he was still feeling wide awake, decided to take a look at the book he had checked out. He flopped onto the couch and opened to page one, and it was a couple of hours before he found himself drifting off to sleep with the book propped on his chest.

X

The weekend had gone by fast, and before anyone knew it, Monday had creeped up on them yet again. But, if you worked for a scare company, Monday's were something to look forward to. Whether you were one of the superstars or not, working at scare companies had their benefits even for those at the bottom of the social rung. Monsters of all positions had access to the most popular figures in public, and many of them considered their difficult tasks and tedious hours worth it just for that fact alone.

Johnny entered the building that day with all manner of confidence and high hopes. As usual, Charlie was ready and waiting at the door station for his admired co-worker to arrive. Because Charlie was still fairly new, he was naturally eager to make a good impression, and so made it a point to try and have the doors ready before Johnny arrived.

"Morning, rookie," Johnny said as he approached his assistant.

"Uh, good morning, Mr. Worthington!" Charlie had an expression of slight wonder on his face; Johnny almost never 'good-morninged' him first. "In a good mood today?"

"Naturally," he smirked and was already crouched on the floor, ready to pounce on his first "victim." "Let me at 'em, rookie; I'm feeling pumped today!"

The smaller monster nodded enthusiastically and ran the card through the door. "Go get 'em, boss!"

The light buzzed green and with a growl, Johnny raced into the room. The yellow canister instantly filled to the top. Johnny came back with his chest puffed out in pride.

"Nicely done, sir!" Charlie beamed.

"Keep it coming, buddy, I'm on a roll."

Can after can was filled to the brim as Johnny tackled one door after another. A few times Charlie even had to put in a second can to get the remaining scream energy. He was in gleeful hysteria; his scare partner was unstoppable!

Towards the afternoon, Johnny left another bedroom with a click of the door. "Still going strong!" he said with delight. "Who next?"

"...Ah...it looks like that one kid is next, sir."

His expression fell somewhat. "Marley?"

"...Marley, sir?"

"The ten-year-old."

"Ah, right - yes, I believe that's the one." He buried his face in his clipboard.

"Hn. Alright, you know what to do."

Charlie nodded and readied the door. As soon as the light went on, Johnny entered (though not without making a show of it, as he didn't want anyone on the scare floor to see him entering a child's bedroom in a casual manner.) When he got in, he shut the door behind him. As usual, the girl's light was on, and she was hanging out on her bed, looking for all the world as if she were waiting for him and he was late.

'Here goes. Round one,' he thought, and straightened.

When Marley saw him, her eyes lit up and she got up off the bed. "You're here," she said with a smile.

"Of course I am. Now, you remember what we agreed on?"

"Yeah, I remember. You want me to scream now?"

"Shoot."

She inhaled, making a big show of what he thought she was about to do. He reached behind him and placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave the room as soon as the scream left her mouth.

But the sound never came.

Marley opened her mouth and breathed out, as if she had been underwater. Johnny frowned.

"Kid, what gives? I kinda need that scream."

She folded her arms (not a good sign.) "Before I scream," she said, "I want you to answer my questions."

His hand fell limp off the door. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he growled. "Listen, runt," he said, actually stepping toward her, "I don't have time to play 20 Questions with you. I've got a busy job, and I need that scream energy _now_."

Unperturbed, she said, "I keep trying to ask you questions, and you never answer them! If you want me to do something for you, then you have to do something for me."

He smacked a hand to his face. "Alright," he conceded. "One question, that's _all_."

She broke into a triumphant smile. "Where do you come from?"

"A city called Monstropolis. Now _scream_!"

True to her word, she let out an ear-splitting scream. Even Johnny, who was used to loud noises, nearly flinched at the sound. Then he grinned and saluted the girl. "Hey, not bad. Thanks, kid!" And left.

Marley wasn't disappointed this time. She didn't mind if he only let her ask one question. She knew he would be back again, and when he did come back, she would ask him yet another one.

Feeling in much higher spirits that night, she turned off her light and settled into bed. It seemed she had finally found out a way to get the large purple monster to do what she wanted, or at least to answer the many questions that still buzzed in her head.

'This is great,' she thought as she gazed out of her window at the clouds sailing past the moon. 'I can ask him anything I want now, and all I have to do is scream!'

With that, she eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

X

Fear Co.'s top Scarer was met with a thunderstruck assistant.

Johnny's face contorted in an amused grin. "What's with you? You look like you've seen a human kid."

"Sir, we...we got three full canisters out of that one!"

"Three?" He raised an eyebrow. "I underestimated that kid's voice." He then slapped a hand on Charlie's back. "See now? Re-visiting this kid turned out to be a good idea. In fact it's better than it ever was before. Now that she's screaming voluntarily, she's giving it all she's got."

"Yeah. Maybe you were right about this whole thing," Charlie admitted.

"Of course I am. Let's keep going; maybe we can finally break our own record today."

The duo spent the rest of the day in a good mood. Their numbers were increasing bit by bit, can after can was being filled, and Johnny showed no signs of tiring.

"You know," he said when they were taking a break, "it's too bad we can't get all these kids to scream voluntarily."

"I understand how you feel, sir. But we're doing great today, even if these kids are screaming spontaneously. Maybe it's good that you're keeping this to one kid only."

He shrugged. "Could be. But you gotta admit, the possibilities are tempting."

When their shift was almost over, Charlie announced that he had to rush home a bit early.

"I've got dinner plans with Wendy," he said, referring to his girlfriend. He quickly stuffed things from his locker into his duffel bag.

"No problem, buddy. See you tomorrow." Johnny was preoccupied and only half-listened to Charlie's words.

Several other monsters were at their lockers, getting ready to leave. The scare floor would be shutting down soon.

Johnny took a deep breath, got up off the bench, and headed out the room. He walked down hallway after hallway on his way toward the main exit, and stopped in front of the scare floor. He stood there for a minute, as if struggling with an important decision. Finally, he entered the scare floor and walked over to his station. Most of the lights in the room were off, only a select few providing a dim glow in the once-thriving area. It was always strange being on a scare floor after-hours.

He set his duffel bag down and sighed deeply, staring at his door station.

He didn't like what he was about to do, but a nagging feeling inside of him told him that he wouldn't get any rest until this was done.

He brought forth the white door with the brass handle, slid the card through the slot, and activated it. He was taking a huge chance, and he knew it. He turned the handle and went in, all the while hoping that no one would snoop around and catch him.

The child's room was dark, but Johnny had excellent night vision and could see her sleeping form in the dark. Or what he thought was her sleeping form, for she sat up in bed the minute she heard her closet door open.

"Johnny monster?" she said.

"Just Johnny, kid. Sorry to wake you, but -"

"That's alright, you didn't wake me, I wasn't sleeping."

"Right. Well, listen, I shouldn't be here right now - the scare floor's closed, but I need to ask you a question."

She scooted forward. "What?"

"That scare you gave today did wonders for us. Do you have any brothers or sisters you could bring along next time?"

She shook her head. "I'm an only child."

He huffed. "Alright. Well, take care then."

"Johnny!"

"_Shh!_ What is it?" he said with a frown.

She got out of bed and approached him.

He backed away. "Easy, kid."

She stopped, confused.

Noticing the puzzled look on her face, he explained, "We monsters aren't supposed to let human kids touch us."

"Why not?"

"Well…" Truth be told, he didn't really know why, anymore. If the rumors going around that human kids weren't toxic were true, he didn't see any reason why monsters should fear physical contact with them anymore. He supposed it was still a deep-rooted fear sitting in the back of the mind's of all monsters. Even so, he could think of no other answer to give, so he defaulted to the long-believed truth. "It just isn't safe. Human kids can be dangerous to monsters." He didn't know if that was the best thing to be blabbing to a human kid, but he was at a loss for any other explanation.

"Oh…" Her eyes were wide, her face contorted with slight confusion. It was clear she didn't understand the logic behind it.

"Come on, kid, what do you want? I gotta get out of here fast."

She snapped to attention and said, "I just wanted to give you something." She went over to her desk and retrieved the item. She went over and handed it to him, which he hesitatingly took.

It was a picture she had drawn of him.

"Um...thanks…" he said, in less-than-convincing tones. He looked as though she had given him a mud-pie instead of a drawing. "Alright, well, gotta go."

"Bye bye, Johnny!" she said in a loud whisper.

X

Johnny had made it in and back out of Marley's room without anyone having noticed, luckily for him. He retrieved his duffel bag, stuffed the drawing inside, and finally left the building for home.

On the way back, he thought about the encounter he had just had with the little girl. He reflected, once again, on the fact that what he had done was certainly a bit drastic, and he blamed a lot of it on his success that day. Perhaps he just got over-excited. Even though he had disobeyed the rules and entered a child's bedroom after-hours, he still believed it would have been worth it, if Marley did have brothers or sisters who could help contribute some scream energy.

He reminded himself, also, that he would have to come clean to his boss and let him know the whole situation. Maybe the fact that he got three cans full of scream energy from one kid would help convince him that Johnny's method was a good one. He refused to continue living in secrecy like this, though. Lying didn't tend to be Johnny's way of dealing with things, and he didn't plan on making it that way. He was a monster who got as far as he did on true talent - not by underhanded means.

Something was also bothering him as he drove back home, some feeling of foreboding that took a while to pinpoint - and then he remembered.

He had touched the kid's artwork.

Something about that made him uneasy, in spite of the newfound knowledge about human children. After thinking about it for a while longer, he dismissed it as backlash from old beliefs, and tried not to think about it too much.

When he got home, he unloaded his bag and took his clothes to the wash. He then pulled out the picture that Marley drew for him, and took the time to study it more closely. It was actually pretty comical - sure, the kid was a good artist and all, but it was amusing to see her representation of him. His horns were drawn larger than they really were, his fur a deep-dark shade of purple, and his arms were spread out in a scaring-stance.

It was strange to say, but he and Marley really had been familiar with each other for years. Only recently did they actually take to conversing with one another. It was odd to think that the little girl who used to scream in true terror when he came out of her closet was now drawing pictures of him in what could only be admiration…or interest, perhaps.

He set the paper down, but changed his mind and hid it in a drawer somewhere. He didn't want anyone coming over and asking him where it came from.

He spent the rest of his evening getting a couple chores done, and then in leisurely activity.

The phone rang at one point, and he answered it to greet the sound of his mother's voice.

"Hey, mom. How's it going?"

_Everything's fine, Johnny - I just wanted to see what you've been up to._

"Same thing as usual, frightening little children, spending time with the guys - you know, life stuff."

_Uh-huh. Well, your father and grandfather have been thinking about arranging a family reunion._

"A reunion, eh? Sounds good, we haven't had one of those in a long time."

_He's talking with everyone else to see what they think, but I wanted to let you know, just in case. Think you could get any time off?_

"I don't know, mom. Work's been kinda tricky lately, but I can try."

_We'll figure something out. You've never missed a family get-together before._

"Let's not tarnish that record, then." He chuckled.

By the time their conversation had ended, Johnny was ready for bed.

As always, it took some time before he actually drifted off to sleep.

His last thought before he lost consciousness was, 'Tomorrow, I'm gonna tell Mr. Cobswell about the kid.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Charlie paced back and forth before the fresh door, hands clasped behind his back. He kept glancing at the clock, but there was still no sign of Mr. Worthington.

Johnny had told Charlie that he had something important to discuss with Mr. Cobswell, but now a half hour had passed, and the small yellow monster was getting anxious; after all, he wasn't getting paid to pace.

In another part of the building, two monsters were having a slightly heated discussion behind closed doors.

"It's out of the question, Worthington," Mr. Cobswell seethed, trying to keep his temper in check.

He was standing before his best Scarer, tall, intimidating, steadfast against the ideas he was trying to put in his head. Johnny only leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.

"Nothing's gone wrong," he said in a much calmer tone.

"_Yet_," he pressed, taking a step closer. "_Yet_, Worthington. I don't care what sort of preposterous revolution Monsters Inc. has come up with. We are not going to deal with it by taking to drastic measures ourselves!"

"With all due respect, sir, measures like these aren't drastic anymore."

His boss scoffed and whirled away. "I know...what with all of this new information they're finding out at that company about human children. Those so-called 'facts' have yet to be legitimized. Change may be taking place all around us, Mr. Worthington, but there are some things that _never_ change."

Johnny frowned and leaned up. "Sir -"

"We will discuss this no more. Return to your station, Mr. Worthington."

With that, Johnny left the office in (as he thought) "temporary defeat."

Charlie was still waiting on the scare floor, and his excitement upon seeing his Scarer finally approaching was stumped by the unpleasant look on Johnny's face. Charlie was afraid even to say anything.

"Get the door going, rookie," Johnny grumbled.

It had been a long day, and by the end of it, Johnny was more than ready to throw in the towel - when he remembered that he was supposed to ask his boss about time off for the family reunion. Then he thought better of it, realizing that it'd be more prudent to put the request in when his boss was in a better mood.

The next day did, indeed, find Mr. Cobswell in a remarkably high-spirited way. Johnny was inclined to wonder about this, but his boss beat him to the question.

"Good news, Worthington - we've made our quota this month with scream energy hitting the top charts, and then some."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "That's great news, sir. And I'm sure none of it can be traced back to our Problem Child?"

Cobswell's face fell, but only slightly. "Alright, Worthington. I'm sure she undoubtedly contributed a good amount to our numbers, but don't forget that you're not the only Scarer in the company."

"I'm the only Scarer who's getting a kid to scream for us."

Cobswell sighed, then looked around. He signaled Johnny into his office and closed the door. "Listen, Worthington," he began, "I see how deadset you are on making this..._bargain_ with the kid, work. I will acknowledge that she pulled through just as you said she would. But you need to understand what's at stake here." He want off on a tangent about the danger of getting too personal with human children, the risk it posed to the monster world, the trouble it would cause them with the CDA, and so on.

Johnny listened patiently, but his resolve was immoveable. "Sir," he said when his boss had finished, "if you allow me, I will personally see to it that nothing endangers us, _or_ the company. The second anything goes wrong, I'll have the door shredded."

"If anything goes wrong, it may be too late by then."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

Cobswell fixed his employee with an icy glare. "If you remember, Worthington, a certain child-related catastrophe that occurred at Monsters Inc. not long ago..."

"How could I forget," he drawled, putting a hand to his forehead. "But look how it turned out for them. They're doing better than they ever have before."

Cobswell heaved a great sigh for the umpteenth time, gazed at Johnny for what seemed like ages, then opened his mouth. "Alright," he said slowly. "Alright. I will allow you to continue visiting this child, in order that she may help to increase our numbers. When I said I trusted you, Worthington, I meant it. _But_," he held up a crooked finger, "be aware that I am holding you personally responsible for anything untoward that may happen. Because you seem to _insist_ so much on doing this."

Johnny thanked his boss and opened the door to make his way to the scare floor.

"Mr. Worthington," his boss called before he left. "Don't make any more contact with the child than is necessary."

Johnny felt a huge load lifted from him as he made his way onto the scare floor.

Now that he was no longer sneaking behind his boss's back, he felt the confidence he had been missing flow back into his system. No more deceit, and all the permission he would ever need to keep carrying out this task. He could see the company's numbers rising dramatically as the kid would continue to give it her all for the sake of their energy. And who knows? maybe Fear Co. would create a revolution of its own.

The possibilities were racing through his mind as he approached a very relieved-looking Charlie.

"Hey, rookie - good news. Cobswell's agreed to my idea!"

His face went from relief to near-disbelief. "He agreed to it? But, how?"

"It wasn't easy," Johnny admitted. "It took some persuasion, but I think he's finally seeing the light."

"Well that's...that's great news, sir," he said, half-heartedly.

If Johnny noticed the subdued tone in his assistant's voice, he didn't show it. He was looking forward to a productive day of scaring. "Bring in the doors, buddy, we're gonna give it our all today."

Johnny wasn't scheduled to "scare" Marley that day, but he was still in a good mood by the end of it. His mood lifted even higher when he had put a request in for some time off, and found out later that his request had been granted. He planned on calling his mother as soon as he got home.

"Hey, mom," he drawled when he reached her. "I just wanted to let you know I got some time off - looks like I'll be able to make it to the reunion."

_That's wonderful, Johnny - your father and I look forward to seeing you. And…_

"Yeah?"

_Well, your father also has something he wants to talk with you about, when you get here._

"Sure, no problem," he said, but frowned. From his mother's tone of voice, it didn't sound like he wanted to have a light discussion with him. What could he possibly want now? It always seemed to be something with his father. "Well, I gotta get going, I'm working early tomorrow."

_Alright, dear. I'll see you next month._

Johnny lied in bed, thinking about what his mother had told him. He didn't like the way she sounded, when she said his father wanted to have a talk with him. His mind turned the matter over and over, and still he couldn't figure out what his father might want to talk to him about.

A father-son discussion wouldn't bother most people, but Johnny and his father weren't "most people." Johnny Worthington II had immensely high expectations for his son, and spent most of Johnny's childhood making sure he would never let their family's reputation down. So far as Johnny could tell, there was no reason why his dad had to come down on him for anything.

...But his mother's voice…

His thoughts blended into one another as he finally fell to sleep.

The weeks passed by quickly. At work, Johnny was able to make a few more visits to Marley.

As per usual, she demanded that he answer one of her many questions before she would even think about screaming. Johnny often found himself wondering what kind of parents would raise such a cheeky kid - but then, some kids were that way regardless of their parenting; just in their nature, he guessed. He had no children of his own, and didn't spend a whole lot of time with monster children - but his insight into the ways of younglings was often shrewd.

Interacting with Marley was his first experience in dealing with a human kid on a psychological level. From what he had gleaned during these interactions, human kids weren't that different from monster kids.

"Kid," Johnny growled and stared at the 10-year-old from under bushy eyebrows, "are you gonna make a habit of this question game?"

"Well…" she hesitated, as if unsure how to answer. As seemed to be her habit whenever he entered the room, she approached him, padding across the floor with her socks loose on her feet, hair disheveled. "I just wanna know about you, and where you come from - I've never seen another monster besides you, and...well, you never wanna answer my questions!"

Johnny was slightly taken aback at how angry this seemed to make her. Glancing at her door, which was shut, he said, "I've answered enough of your questions, kid. It's against our rules to go blabbing things to a human."

"But I promise I won't tell anyone!"

He stood there a moment, contemplating. He put his hands on his hips and regarded her. "Alright. If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with. What do you wanna know that I haven't told you already?"

Marley's face beamed with joy. She was so excited, she actually ran back to her bed and pounced on it, then turned to face him. Johnny took a few more steps into her room, but was careful to be within quick reach of the closet door. He knew he couldn't afford to do this; he shouldn't be spending more than a handful of seconds in her room, or the others would get suspicious. But quenching her curiosity would (hopefully) make his work with her easier in the long-run. It'd be great to come into her room and not wrestle with her about information about himself, or his world.

How much time he actually spent in there, he didn't know - but he was barraged with a ton of questions by the little imp, and grudgingly answered all that he could. There were some questions she asked that he flat-out refused to answer, much to her disappointment. Before long, the tables started turning: instead of Marley threatening not to scream for Johnny, Johnny began threatening never to visit Marley again if she didn't. He assumed, of course, that she liked seeing him, and would thus be disappointed if he never came back.

Her eyes grew wide when he said that, and she actually looked somewhat frightened. She looked down at her folded hands. "I'll scream," she said, after a while, then looked up at him. "But don't leave." Her eyes were two, pleading pools of water.

Johnny couldn't find it in himself to take advantage of her defeat, but he said, "If you keep screaming, I won't. Remember, kid, we need that scream energy. It's highly important to us monsters. Understand?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

"Good. Feel like giving me a scream?"

She nodded. "Right now?"

"Fire away."

She screamed as loud as she possibly could, this time much louder than before. The silence that filled the room was deafening.

Johnny grinned, showing his sharp, gleaming teeth. "You're one good customer, kid. I gotta go." He stood up.

"Promise you'll come back?" she blurted out in a voice louder than she meant.

His hand on the doorknob, he turned to look at her, and gave her a playful salut. "I promise, kid."

She smiled, and he left. When the door had shut with a click, Marley - for a reason she didn't know - got out of bed and headed for the closet door. Maybe, just maybe, they accidentally left their world open. Maybe she could get a glimpse of it, just this once…

But upon opening it, she was met with only the dismal sight of her closet, scattered with books, boxes, and stuffed animals. She stood there for a few seconds, as if willing Johnny to show up again, but at last she gave up and closed the door.

His departures were always hard to endure.

Luckily for Johnny, Charlie made no inquiries as to why he was in the kid's bedroom for so long. Really, he later found out, it hadn't been that long - but for being that he was only supposed to go in there and get the girl to scream, it had been some time. Charlie was smart enough to assume, of course, that Johnny probably tended to exchange a few words with the kid, and so didn't hold it too much against him for his prolonged visits. Charlie also knew even less about human kids than Johnny did, and had no idea (the way Johnny was beginning to) how demanding and inquisitive some human kids could be.

After that visit, Johnny didn't see Marley again until after his family reunion - a reunion that was quickly approaching.

When his last day came, he took all the time he could to make preparations for travel. Not that his parents lived terribly far, but they were on the other side of Monstropolis, and Monstropolis covered a huge area.

He packed his things and loaded them into his car, ready to make the drive to his parents' place, where family reunions were sometimes held (he hoped this year that it would take place at Brambles Park.)

During the drive, he tried not to think too much about the conversation he was going to have with his father. He didn't even know what it was about, so there was no sense dwelling on it.

Several CD's later, he finally came into view of his parents' manor.

'Home sweet home,' he thought humorlessly as he pulled into one of the many driveways. No sooner had he retrieved his luggage and shut the door when his mother came out to greet him.

She was a terrifying monster, very much alike in appearance to Johnny - slenderer, but no less terrifying. Two large, dark horns jutted from the top of her head; not as large as her sons (he got his horns from his father), but formidable all the same. She grinned, revealing a row of gleaming sharp teeth.

"Glad you made it, son!" she called, making the trek down to the driveway.

"Me too, mom." They hugged, and made their way toward the mansion's main entrance.

Shirley was thrilled that her son was able to make it. She asked him a string of habitual questions, about work and home life, to which he also answered habitually.

"Where's dad?"

"He's on the phone with uncle Jerry."

"What does he want to talk with me about?"

She hesitated a moment, then said, "Work stuff, mostly. He's been a bit concerned about you."

"_Concerned_?" he replied in an "I don't believe that" tone. "Doesn't sound like him."

She gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry about it. Let's go in the house and you can refresh yourself."

Johnny stepped inside, and immediately a wave of nostalgia flooded his senses. He remembered the smell of his home, the appearance...the memories.

The Worthington's lived luxuriously. Elegant furniture and decor lined each room, and in some hung large paintings of famous scarers within the family. There was even a row of marble busts for some of them. Hissian carpets lined the polished floors. Chandeliers donned the ceilings. Every inch of the house was adorned with austerity.

"Good to be back," he said, under his breath.

Footsteps sounded near the room, and in stepped Johnny "John-John" Worthington II. He grinned when he saw his son by the door. "Well come on in, son - you're not a visitor here!" He was a truly terrifying specimen. He was like a much larger version of his son, only scarier, if that were possible.

"Great to see you too, dad," Johnny said, and before he could react, his father enveloped him in a rough embrace.

Johnny - bag still in hand - nearly choked. "Dad, let me set my bag down."

The family congregated to the kitchen, where a four-eyed, tentacled butler was preparing some orderves.

They sat around and talked for a while until, some time later, Johnny's father gave the signal for his mother to leave the room.

"I think I'll go see about the picnic arrangements," she said, and scuttled away.

"Well, son," his father started.

'This must be it,' thought Johnny. 'Here goes nothing.'

"I hear times are tough at work," he continued, fixing his son with an intense gaze.

Johnny rubbed the back of his head. "Right. Well, they haven't been the easiest they've ever been."

"Even for a Worthington?" he detected more than a hint of disapproval in his father's voice.

Deciding to change tactics, he replied, "Things are changing, dad. It was rocky at first, but our numbers have been soaring ever since -" he stopped short.

"Ever since what?" he pressed after a moment.

"Well…" Johnny averted his gaze. His face contorted in a troubled frown.

Before his father had a chance to question his son, Shirley entered the room in a fit. "Cousin Rachel isn't able to come!" she seethed.

The guys stared at her.

"...What?"

Johnny settled into bed that night, thinking about the reunion that would (thankfully) take place at Brambles Park tomorrow. He was looking forward to reacquainting himself with his cousins, aunts and uncles. It had been a long time since he last saw them.

When tomorrow dawned, the Worthington's got together all of the picnic items they would be bringing, and arrived early at the park to get things set up.

While Shirley was spreading a tablecloth over a long wooden picnic table, Johnny Jr. took the opportunity to confront his son again about his performance at work.

"Listen, son," he growled, trying to keep his tone low, "I don't like this talk about the company falling on hard times. Even if it's true, there's no reason you should be one of them. You're a _Worthington_."

Johnny gritted his teeth. He wanted so much to tell his dad about the great success he's been having at work - but that would mean telling him about the human kid, and Johnny was not about to go that far, not with his father.

He decided to tell the truth, without giving too much detail. With any luck, his dad would accept his word for it and drop the subject.

"I was gonna tell you, dad - I've been having a lot of success at work lately, a lot more than the other Scarers. My assistant and I have decided to up our game, put a little extra growl in our grin, and work harder than ever before. So whatever rumors you've been hearing, they sure don't apply to me." It came naturally to Johnny, to lather his words in confidence and suave. It never left anyone in doubt of his word, however, this was his father he was talking to.

"They'd better not. You just keep hard at the work you're doing, and so help me, don't ever let there be a blemish on your record."

It wasn't long before family members started arriving. There were aunts and uncles, and plenty of cousins - some of them around Johnny's age, quite a few younger. There was, of course, Johnny's grandparents - Johnny Worthington Sr. being one of the more revered figures in the family. He was not only the patriarch, but well known to everyone in the family (and countless monsters outside the family, as well) for being the Top Scarer for years on end at Monsters Inc. The younger relatives gathered around to hear him tell stories about his days as a Top Scarer.

When everyone had arrived, the fun really began.

The Worthington's family always hosted scare competitions whenever they got together. There were games for the youngest kids and for the older participants. Johnny had a great time with his family members, and even began to forget his father's relentless words of pressure.

Everyone was having such a good time, they didn't notice the sun going down behind the hills. Monsters, as a rule, were not afraid of the dark - but many of the family had jobs they needed to scuttle back to the next day. Slowly, the group began to disperse, tables were cleaned, trash thrown away, games wrapped up. The family reunion had come to an end.

Johnny and his parents were the last ones there.

"What a wonderful day this was," Shirley said as they made their way to the car.

Brambles Park was still filled with a few lingering locals finishing a nightly game of soccer. It was a pleasant atmosphere; the air was still slightly warm, and the last rays of the sun began to merge with the dark of the night.

"Do you really have to leave tomorrow?" Shirley asked as they drove home.

"I have to, work's been more hectic than ever before. I can't afford to miss another day."

"It's better he goes back, Shirley," Johnny Jr. said. "He's gotta keep at it if he wants to break that record."

"He's already broken the record, John," she said.

"His own record, then. No one in our family will stand for anything less."

"You won't receive anything less," Johnny insisted.

Early next day, Johnny said goodbye to his parents and drove back home.

His shift started later that day, so he would have enough time to rest a little and get ready for work.

By the time his shift started, he was feeling refreshed and at full strength. He was greeted by dozens of monsters as he entered the main doors of Fear Co. But no one was happier to see him than Charlie.

"Welcome back, sir!" he said.

"Thanks, buddy. Ready to bring in the big numbers?"

"Ready as ever, sir."

It was during the later part of the night, on a break, that Johnny received a request from Cobswell to report to his office.

'_Now_ what?' Johnny thought, as he set down his drink and left the lounge.

He walked briskly down the hallway until he found his boss's office. He knocked, and Cobswell let him in.

"Mr. Worthington - welcome back, first of all. Have a nice reunion?"

"Same as ever, sir."

"I'll come straight to the point. I received a call from your father several minutes ago."

Johnny sat straight up in his chair. "My father?"

"He seemed to want to confirm with me the status report you gave him yesterday."

Johnny didn't know whether to feel confused, angry, or embarrassed - so he felt a little of each. "My father never calls to check up on me. Why would he…?"

"Listen, Worthington," Cobswell began sympathetically, "I know you have a lot to live up to, what with your family history. Your grandfather was Monsters Inc.'s Top Scarer. Your father the same after him. And...I understand that you are the first in your family to work for this company. Is that correct?"

"It is, sir," he said, grabbing tight to the chair handles. How could his dad humiliate him like this?

"...If you don't mind me asking," he began slowly, "did you bother to tell your father about your little project?"

He huffed. "I didn't tell him about that - it'd be better to save it for later, when he's ready to hear it."

"Do you think it's a good idea to withhold something so vital from your father?"

"I wouldn't withhold anything unless I thought it was necessary, sir."

Cobswell nodded. "Well, let's leave it at that, then. I'm sorry for all the fuss, Mr. Worthington."

He stood up. "Don't worry about it, just forget it. Can I go back to my station now? Break's just about over."

Cobswell nodded, and Johnny was dismissed.

He tried not to feel too angry as he made his way back to his station - but he just couldn't believe that his dad would dare to call and check up on him like that. As if Johnny needed that, at his age. It was odd, too, as his dad had never been the compassionate type. Most of his life, he was only concerned about pushing Johnny to his limits, and training his son in the ways of a Scarer. Johnny was an only child, and so it had always been up to him to carry on the respected name of Worthington. His father would never have settled for anything less than having his son be the Top Scarer - whether it was at Fear Co. or Monsters Inc.

Still, it was odd…

Charlie already had a door waiting for him when he got back.

"Everything alright, sir?"

"Everything's fine," he snapped. "Let's do this, rookie, we're in for a long night."


End file.
